


Phantom Thief Kokichi x Undercover Detective Reader Short Story: A True Rival

by purplerosewrites



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other, Romantic Fluff, Self-Doubt, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:49:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26721679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplerosewrites/pseuds/purplerosewrites
Summary: Having been fired you are down on your luck with little money, trying to find some way to worm your way into the secret organization behind the Phantom thief DICE. Your luck seems to turn up when your are offered job for the organization! Can you keep your cover while working for the leader Kokichi Oma? Will your work be affected by your budding friendship with said man? How will the case end?
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Reader
Comments: 8
Kudos: 66





	1. A New Job/A Break In The Case

You couldn’t stop thinking about what had led you to the low of having to dig through the garbage to find a decent meal. You were a great detective, not that well known, but you were amazing at your job. Your goal was never to catch the criminals, but to simply find the truth, and you never made a show of it. People are always searching for narratives, stories of the good guys winning and beating the opposition, getting the stolen items was never enough for people. That was why you weren’t well known. Obviously you did catch criminals, but your main goal was finding the truth, once you found the heart of the matter, often the criminal needing therapy or they had no other choice, you’d do all you could to help them outside of sending them to prison, something others often looked down at you for, calling you naive. None the less you could still solve cases decently quickly and your expertise was analyzing people, figuring out how they saw the world. That was what had gotten you called on the Phantom Thief Dice’s case.

Almost nothing was known about Dice, not even if it was a group or a single individual. All that was known was that a pair of colorful dice would be placed on the target, whatever number the dice landed on was how many days before the item would be stolen in the night, a very childish looking replica in its place. A figure in the brightest of white and purest of black was spotted at each scene. The police always gave chase for this individual, but they always escaped whether it be via smoke bombs, a grappling hook, motorcycle, paraglider, colorful weapons with the most harmless of ammo such as glue or curtain string lights. After that the same number of days as before the items would be returned, unharmed as if it were never touched in the first place.

You had been assigned to the case for a year. In that time, you were sent across the globe more times than you could count, going from crime scene to crime scene, never getting even a glimpse of the phantom thief yourself. Though you were hired for your way of going about cases, many were upset that you were more so studying the thief then working to catch them. You knew to catch a person like this you needed to know their motivation, think like them, and a few times you were close to catching them, but all attempts ended in failure. In the end, you were fired, not even getting a paycheck at the end of it all. That’s what you get for being a private investigator instead of a government detective. So, what were you going to do, sue them?

What a joke.

You bitterly chuckled as you sat on a park bench coming up empty handed. You hated this. Stranded in a foreign country, knowing next to nothing of the language and not having enough money in your pocket to at least get a morsel of food or afford a room at an inn. You hated this so much… and you were scared. You stared down at the clenched fists in your lap as you just let the whole situation sink in. Your breathing slightly hitched as you lightly trembled. You shut your eyes tightly, feeling it all welling up. The frustration, the fear, the sadness, it all kept welling up. This just all hurt so much.

“気を付けて!”

“… what?” Though your eyes were blurred and glossy from tears you could see the sakura petals that flittered and fluttered in the air around you, the boxes of crayons, paint brushes, paint bottles, and other such art supplies strewn atop you, the bench and even the ground. There was also a man who shakily pushed himself off said ground, a rather large half-full bag beside him, it’s contents spilling out. He looked up to you with a smile. “ニシシ、ビックリ。” Once off the ground he held out a hand to you. “初めまして、私の名前は大間幸吉です。” Taking a step towards you, he slipped on some of the round brushes, falling over. He simply lay motionless on the ground for a moment before quickly sitting up, laughing to himself. Those soft pink petals absolutely covered him, most gently entangled in his purple hair. His smile only grew hearing he had drawn even a small laugh from you. You helped him to his feet after quickly wiping the tear streaks from your cheeks.

“あなたの名前を教えて？あなたはこのあたりで新しく見えます。ああ！あなたは外国のスパイですか？彼らは私を捕まえようとしているエージェントを送りましたか？私は怪盗であり、世界で最高のリーダーです！” “Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t- uh, wait!” You quickly scrambled for your travel phone. “Oh, you don’t even speak Japanese?” There wasn’t even a hint of an accent on his tongue. “Uh, y-yeah. Are you a foreigner too?” “Yeah, definitely! I’m from Atlantis! Sent by my people to take back our treasure that was stolen from us!” “What? … That’s so ridiculous it’s almost amusing.” “Hey! Don’t lie! I hate liars! If you have to lie at least get better at it, you’re smiling!” “Okay, fine, it’s kind of amusing. Compared to my thoughts at least.”

“I’m Oma Kokichi, and you are?” “Vivi-,… Last name, then first name. I’m Kiernan Vivian.” You weren’t going to give this guy your real name, so you used the fake identity you were given when you arrived in Japan. You still found the name you were given to be odd. Vivian though in the past was considered to be a masculine name, then gender neutral, in modern times it was almost exclusively feminine. And Kiernan was very masculine. You never understood why they didn’t give you more gender neutral names so you could more easily disguise yourself without drawing attention or having to make up a name on the spot then having dozens of names to remember because you couldn’t just be given a convenient, non-binary name.

“Kiernan Vivian. I’ll call you Vivi, and you can call me Kokichi, since you’re used to using first names.” “Uh, okay, thank you?” He then plopped himself beside you with flair, seemingly not caring about the art supplies beneath him. It seemed that there was personality in every action, even in the smallest of movements. It was rather captivating. Not just that but everything about the man. He wore rather colorful clothing with clashing patterns that would make even the most uncaring for fashion cringe. Nonsensical layers like a striped long-sleeved shirt under a tie-dye crop top with kanji on it. Tall, mismatched socks and short tights. Even his hair. It seemed to defy gravity and curl up at the tips. Likely he was someone with endless confidence in order to be so loud yet not act odd in any way. Now you wondered what kind of confidence he had, was it self-destructive, or was it self-preserving.

“Hey Vivi, can I ask you something?” “Ummm, sure?” “Have we met before, because you seem reallllllllllly familiar. So familiar I tripped over my own feet when I saw you!” As he spoke, he leaned in towards you getting face to face. You tried to not show you were uncomfortable, not leaning back in response yet, he quickly backed off even scooting a little away. Did he catch some hint and reacted to that? A flicker of your eyes or something? Every action he took was deliberate and he was hyper aware of his surroundings. Just happening to trip seemed unlikely but you could just as easily be getting the wrong impression of the guy. “I don’t think so.” “Really? Oh! What if we’re long lost childhood friends separated by time, or, OR! You have amnesia, and that’s why you don’t remember me! Oh, my poor sweet Vivi, such a terrible fate for as great of friends such as we!” Leaning back he posed dramatically placing the back of his hand on his forehead with his eyes closed. “I’m pretty sure all my memories are intact.” Looking up to the sky you smirked, letting your mind run wild. “Or it could be a conspiracy!” Kokichi gasped! “A conspiracy!? No!” “Yes! When I was but a child I saw something I should not have, the Atlantin government not wanting the dreadful secret getting out banished me from my true home under the sea and I was forced to make my way up here, but soon I shall reclaim my true memories and return, unveiling that corrupted secret that lay in wait!” “Ah! How could they! Not my best friend!” Rather playful, wasn’t he.

“Ah!” “Is something wrong?” “It’s teatime!” You looked to him in slight confusion. Japan had a teatime? “C’mon Vivi, we got to go!” He quickly scrambled to gather all the supplies, dumping it all into the bag. Before you could say anything, Kokichi had already taken your hand and was dragging you away. “Wait! Hold on! I can’t pay! I don’t have anything on me right now!” “Whatever, we’ll figure something out. Let’s just go!” Though reluctant, you were curious as to what Kokichi had planned.

The two of you sat across from one another in a small tea shop. Being unable to read anything Kokichi… translated? For you? He gave the teas descriptions instead of just stating the name like ‘dark, robust liquid ash’ or ‘snow water’. You were able to puzzle out his descriptions and he thankfully ordered for you, so you didn’t butcher the Japanese language.

“So, have any work lined up?” “Huh?” Resting his chin in one hand with the other the tips of his fingers lazily traced the rim of his cup. “A foreigner in a foreign land. You must have had something planned, but it fell through, didn’t it?” “… Yeah. You could say that I guess.” “Don’t you have any way to get back home or…” “No offence, you seem like a nice guy, but I just met you. I don’t exactly want to talk about my financial stability.” “Oh?” A long sigh drew from his lips, looking rather disappointed. “That’s too bad. If you were looking for work, I could help you. I have lots of connections. Whatever you specialize in, I can find someone who could use your talents.” “Hmm?” Fine, you’d bite. “Connections? What sort of connections?” “To all the big names! I have the yakuza under my thumb! If it wasn’t for me, they’d be fighting nonstop! I also control all the world’s governments! The world is my oyster and I can do whatever I want! I can find a nice cozy place for you easily.” “You rule the world, do you?” He stared at you for a moment as if waiting for something… Then his eyes slightly widened. “Huh. Most people would have called me out on my lie or ignored me altogether. And you’re definitely of sound mind too. Yet you play along with me.” Taking a sip of your tea you looked out the window. Your mind wandered back to your old work, the criminals you captured… “The way I see things, everyone sees the world from their own perspective. Every person has their own personal truths. I don’t believe you rule the world, but it’s entirely possible that you believe it. The real truth could be you do rule the world, even if to me it’s not the truth and the opposite could be the case too, but no matter what the real truth is, it won’t necessarily effect our perception of the world. You could still believe you rule it and I could still think you don’t. The only way a person sees the world is through their own perspective, no other. A child’s imaginary friend may not be tangible to us, but that friendship isn’t any less real to the child. People can have any number of phobias, Xanthophobia the fear of the color yellow, we may see it as a silly fear, but that color still strikes real terror into people with that phobia. No matter how silly the worry seems, in a way, it’s still very real to the person with that fear. So even if it’s not the real truth, in a way it is real, because it’s the only way you experience the world. So who am I to teach you how I see the world, mine could be just as faulty as yours if not more so. I believe that as long as with your perspective you don’t act in such a way that harms others, there’s no need to do anything about it.”

Kokichi stared at you, seemingly absent mindedly… “Huh… So that’s why…” He smirked, though there was a softness in his eyes not reflected in that sharp smile.

“Hey, want to be my assistant? I’ll pay handsomely.” “Excuse me?” He looked absolutely giddy, leaning over the table a little with that beaming smile and sparkling eyes. “Yeah! You see I’m an investor. Movies, companies, charities, festivals, you name it, I’ve invested in something in the category! And I invest in anything I know has potential, or I just like, and I like you! It’ll be fun!” His expression shifted to something dark, something sinister, something that embedded a deep fear in you instantaneously. When he spoke next his voice reflected that terrifying, threatening presence. “Or not, who knows…” Smirking he leaned back in his seat. “Life is a series of chances and now, you have the option to take a chance on me. So…” He beamed, unable to contain his excited laughter. “Will you!? Hey, hey! So, what is it? What do you choose! Will you take a chance on me? Huh? Will you? Will you!” “I-I, uh… You don’t even know if I’ll make for a good assistant.” “Silly, I’m not keeping you as an assistant forever… Okay, maybe I will, buuuut, it’ll work like this. You be my assistant, I see what you’re good at, and I’ll offer you positions in places I know could use your skills! No experience required!” “I, uh, what about the details and stuff?” Taking a colored pencil out of his pocket, Kokichi began to write on a napkin before passing it to you. “Here’s how to contact me. Now, enough business talk, this is the mandatory tea break, we’re supposed to be relaxing right now.”

The tea was absolutely lovely, mild and calm, just what you needed. It was warm, comforting, the air constantly filled with silly banter between the pair of you. There was not a moment left to think, just the moment to be lived in. In the back of your mind you wondered if Kokichi was doing this on purpose, making this atmosphere to lull you in. This entire situation was awfully shady… but it was most certainly an intriguing development and… admittedly seeing him smile and wave goodbye, asking you to think on his offer, you already missed him. He certainly left an impression on you, and you seemed unable to take your mind off him, puzzling out what his own aim was.

As night began to fall you found yourself meandering by a lakeside. You watched as the water rippled, a warped reflection of the crisp night sky, the moon full and stars bright. Rather beautiful one might say. Pulling your phone out of your pocket you sat down, placing it before you. Hugging your knees to your chest you looked to your phone then to the lake over and over till finally up to the sky. You had no idea when you’d receive your next paycheck, and bills were coming up soon. Perhaps this was just the development you were waiting for. And a little extra income couldn’t hurt should this be a faulty endeavor.

Taking the folded napkin from your pocket you entered the address into your phone. You were immediately taken to a garish site that looked to be a poorly slapped together wiki page. The text was neon, the background blindingly bright colors. There were several links at the top you could hardly read due to the lack of color contrast. The only understandable thing on the entire page was a single image near the top. A person appearing to be dressed as a clown in a business suit stood beside the only legible words… ‘New feature! English translation for our newest, and definitely not only considering joining member, Vivi!’ My how considerate. ‘ENLIST TODAY: We are an leading-’ Guess this wasn’t the best translation, or a rush job. ‘- evil organization looking for creative and hardworking new team members. BENEFITS INCLUDE: free wifi, dental plan, discount wigs, nuclear war, cool masks, tiny cars, flexible hours, yu-gi-oh! Starter set, world domination, balloon animals, paid vacation, crimes.” And there in the corner was an insignia of sorts spelling out ‘DICE’ in a warped fashion with plain text stating ‘DICE’ under it.

… was… was this seriously going to be easier than you thought? This convoluted plan to sneak into one of these groups was working!? Soon after starting the DICE case you found some strange connections, connections that made you believe this case was connected to an individual who was possibly connected to a group, if not worked as a middle man between groups. Was this your mysterious individual you wanted to investigate before you were fired!? All your leads, especially these strange connections were so vague you only had scraps to go by but… It was already all paying off!? Your instinct to delve into this was correct? But you couldn’t celebrate just yet, you needed to dive into the bank accounts and transactions to be sure if this truly is one of the groups you set your aim on.

… This was too easy, something was wrong… but you had no choice, if you wanted to learn more, you had to jump in headfirst. Maybe this endeavor would yield much more than you dared to dream… or you were simply being toyed with which was entirely likely. Or coincidence, that was another possibility. Switching to dark mode you were finally able to read the top links. ‘sign-up, forum, community, e-mail, ???’ When you clicked on any of the links it just brought you to the same home page, or at least to a page that looked exactly the same. You were no expert on coding, but you thought to check it out. Comparing it to screen shots of website codes and you found some oddities in the website’s code. Seems you had a puzzle to solve. Things got extremely in-depth. You had to take screenshots and brighten up images to see hidden links, opening images in notepad seeing the true file names and the names of photoshop layers, and using those as hints, gathering all the oddities in the code and finding the hints it held, combining everything together you got the real address to send your resume and information.

Meanwhile Kokichi sat there clacking away at a computer, stopping in his tracks hearing a notification on his phone. Excitedly he tapped the screen, seeing exactly what he wanted. He beamed seeing you had accepted his offer! “This will be so fun!” He quickly flipped through your info, not caring for what you put in. Instead he dug in deeper, wanting to see which real page you sent your information through. “… You went through the code one? Nishishi.” Holding the phone to his chest he leaned back, looking to the ceiling as he kicked the table, himself rolling away on the wheeled chair. “Oh, Vivi. I didn’t take you for the directly roundabout type.” Throwing his heel down he stopped spinning, it landing on a mini fridge. He kicked it open before taking out a glass bottle with a purple drink inside. With a twist of the cap a hiss sound seeped out. “Hmm, now…” As he took a sip of his drink, he pulled some small items from his pocket. “how long shall this prologue be?” Kicking the minifridge he was sent rolling back. As he spun and rolled, he limply tossed the items which clattered on the long, barren side table. “1, 6, 2, 0, 8, 20. Aw. Only thirty-seven days? Boo!” Quickly collecting the D20, D12, D10, D8, D6, D4 he stuffed them back into his pocket. Slumping into his seat he took another sip. “Wait! I can roll the ten again! You always roll the ten twice!” He quickly felt for the dice, before pulling it out, holding it between his middle and pointer finger, smirking. “Let’s see where the dice lands.” He then tossed it up high in the air, his gaze never wavering from the plastic. It landed, bouncing several times before spinning on a corner. On the edge of his seat he clutched the armrest and glass bottle. Then… “Two!? Come on! Just thirty-nine days!?” Crossing his arms, he was rather huffy. “Oh well. Just have to make the most of each and every moment, and I do my best work under tighter time restraints, so this works out. Better get started!”

You stretched, a light pop coming from one of your joints before you flopped onto your back. So, should you really sleep out in a park? You didn’t exactly have much choice. If you wanted money, you’d have to use your real identity and… you’d be in serious trouble if you tried using it just yet, you were under cover. Not like you had much money anyway, but you could at least rent a room for the night. Then you heard the distinct ding sound of your phone. You had but one notification, an e-mail titled ‘YOU’RE HIRED!!!! Maybe… OPEN TO FIND OUT!’ Upon opening the message, you found only an address. After placing the address into a map app, you followed it’s directions.

To your baffled amazement you arrived at a gorgeous hotel. Not being used to this extravagance you were honestly terrified to step inside, fearing accidently breaking something and being saddled with debt. “Vivi! You made it!” Kokichi hopped up from a sofa and dashed to you. “H-hi, Kokichi!” This was insane, what were you even doing!? You swore there were sparkles surrounding Kokichi because of that beaming smile… or it was probably because of how absolutely everything in the building was shined with not a scuff mark on a thing, even the floor! Taking one of your hands into both of his, he eagerly dragged you to the sofa he was just at, a small pile of papers sitting atop it. “Let’s get to the nitty-gritty. This is your contract! Just the usual things of selling your soul to me for unlimited power, sign our name in blood on the dotted line, all that stuff in the legends and myths about making a deal with the devil.” He waved his hand dismissively before placing both his hands behind his head, turning away no longer paying attention like it was already a done deal. Carefully looking through the small stack of pages you found it was surprisingly simple for a contract, and everything was catered for your benefit. “… This is rather generous.” “I take care of my people. Treat people with some basic human decency and they work hard for you in return! But that’s a lie! It’s to lull you into a false sense of security so I can be a total dictator and treat you like dirt! You’ll be my slave and do my every last bidding!” You glanced to him for a moment raising a brow. “Hmm, you’re quite the interesting dictator then, tell me is being a dictator a part of your demonic heritage or just your preferred management style?”

There it was again. Being a liar Kokichi could instantly snuff out his own kind and yet… clearly you were hiding something but when it came to his lies, when you play along with him… You lied and didn’t at the same time. You didn’t believe Kokichi, yet you also did. You were an anomaly Kokichi couldn’t quite get a read on. He had to keep someone so dangerous close. And more importantly he wanted to get to know you. Even if you didn’t have that fascinating viewpoint, he still would have wanted to help and learn about a person who searched through the garbage for food. What had led you to such a state, what circumstances got you to lose your last job, why did you accept a job in a foreign country that spoke in a language you knew nothing of. And that look in your eyes, you tried to remain calm, but you were desperate. He couldn’t just leave you like that.

“This only lasts for thirty-nine days?” “Yep! I will find you more permanent work in thirty-nine days. Doesn’t matter what your experience is I’ll find something that’s the right fit for you!” “What about college or other education requirements?” “It’ll be fine, I’ll deal with it, or we’ll deal with it.” You continued to meticulously read over every last word, almost not believing what you were reading. “The mandatory tea breaks these are in addition to regular breaks?” “Uh-huh.” “And we have to have tea during tea breaks.” “Yes!” “What if teatime rolls around but I’m busy?” “Oh, that’s stated in the subsection riiiiight here.” “Ah, okay… and I notice the job description itself is rather vague. Just personal live-in assistant…” “Well it has to be! I’m going to be testing you on any and all skills I can think of, so you’ll be doing a lot.” “Wouldn’t it be more efficient if you just based your tests on my resume and previous job experience?” “Oh Vivi. So young and naive. I remember when I was like you, the days of my youth like the scent of fresh lemons!” “Lemons? Huh, didn’t know Atlantis had any, or would it be from where demons come from?” “…” Were… were you going to keep track of his lies? Having a good enough memory to keep track of them all would be a useful skill. “YEAH! Lemons were created by me! The horror of making something that could instantaneously scrunch up a person’s face, disfiguring them for all of eternity was something I could not resist!”

Arriving at the end you couldn’t believe how legitimate it all was. No contract could be this in favor of the worker and be real, right? There had to be some sort of catch you missed. Or perhaps you just always got really bad contracts? Though, good or bad, it didn’t matter, you needed to investigate this man and the possibly connections he has. “Well… I don’t see any reason to not sign.” “Yay! Oh Vivi, this’ll be so great!… For me. This is going to be a living hell for you! Nishishi.” You just deadpan stared at him for a moment. “Are you sure you should be saying things like that before I’ve even signed?” “You’re going to sign anyway, so I can say whatever I want!” “Eh, true.” “… Huh… You don’t even pretend to deny how desperate you are! I like that! Honesty is the most important trait to have! That’s why I’ve never lied before in my life.” “Well, before you did say you hate liars, and I already screwed up before by lying so that’s out the window.” “…” Taking the pen he held out to you, you immediately signed. Gently taking the papers from you, he held them to his chest so tenderly. Softly smiling, he held out a hand to you. “I’m glad to have you abord.”

You can learn a lot about a person from a simple handshake. His grip was firm, but not tight. His palms weren’t clammy or dry, rather soft actually. Just as from your impression before, he was confident, not a single hesitation. Even his every movement, blink of the eye, twitch of the lips, everything seemed to have a meaning, he was purposely doing so, yet it was not fake. A strange, warped mixture of falsities and honesty. It seemed he didn’t believe his own blatant lies. He was honestly lying not trying to hide it was fake. Were those honest lies there to hide true lies? The lies he wanted you to believe were true.

So… thirty-nine days to learn more of this man. Even if this got you nothing on the Dice case, at least you’d have an intriguing time.

Suddenly he had an iron grip, dragging you off the sofa and ran with you outside. “You’ve just made the worst mistake of your life Vivi! Nishishi!” Looking over his shoulder he smiled so brightly, the city lights casting his features in a soft, golden halo. Again, he was honestly lying.


	2. Strange Work/Doubts

You awoke with a groan hearing your phone’s alarm going off the next morning. You did not want to move or get up at all, but you had work. After a quick shower you got dressed and looked over the list you were given last night. After collecting the few items you were able to keep even under this new identity, clothing, some shower supplies, things like that, Kokichi dragged you to his apartment, saying your work was to start tomorrow. The first thing on the list “wake me up. 7:00-10:00’ … Why such a big time frame? And less importantly, but still curiously, why was the list written in entirely crayon?

At first you tried the usual things, gently shaking his shoulder, setting a blaringly loud alarm, things like that. None of it worked… Kind of. After blaring music as loudly as you could from your phone, you heard giggling. “Good you’re awake. Now the next item on th-” “No I’m not.” You looked to him for a moment, a stupid grin creasing his lips. “… So, you sleep talk?” “Yeah~” He dreamily sighed, nuzzling into his pillow. “… Alright, sure.”

Not wanting to waste time, you decided to move on to the next item, ‘can you cook? Make breakfast and we’ll see!’ It said to see if you could cook so cereal and milk likely wouldn’t work for this test. Looking through the cupboards and fridge there were surprisingly a lot of items. There were even tools, all seemed used, but well cared for. Did Kokichi know how to cook? Pondering that over you looked up some recipes on your phone. Not before filling a pot with boiling water and wrapping a towel around it though. Maybe you could make boiled eggs? That was simple, right? Maybe pancakes? That couldn’t be too hard, right? “Uhh…” Looking through the cupboards you began to mumble to yourself. “Where’s the flour… or frying pan for that matter?” Then a loud obnoxious yawn halted your thoughts. “Very right… last shelf. An… bottom… behind knife block at… at the left.” “Thank you!” “Ngh… what are you… you thanking me for?… I’m just asleep…” “… Thank you asleep Kokichi.” “Hmph.” Alright! Back to work.

With all the excitement from last night you never really got a good look at the apartment. Though it was rather small, so it wasn’t difficult to find your way around, it was just three rooms after all. The main one being the living room/bedroom/kitchen, the shower room, and the broom closet/office. Though all the same room the kitchen was slightly separated from the rest of the room by being secluded in a corner, having a tiled floor instead of carpet, and a long island acting a barrier between the kitchen and sofa bed. Said sofa bed currently had pillows and couch cushions running down the middle separating you and Kokichi… Though that didn’t seem to work too well considering Kokichi fell asleep sprawled across the barrier.

With the pancakes almost finished you decided to look into making soft-boiled eggs. “Hot and cold water?” You thought you were just going to… well, just boil the eggs. Turns out there’s a lot more to making these things than you thought… like, you needed vinegar? “It’s just called a soft-boiled egg, why are there more steps than, ‘boil the egg’?” It was then Kokichi realized that he may have made a dreadful mistake in deciding to test you on your cooking skills before asking you how much you knew about cooking… Eh, even if you burned down the apartment complex it’d be fine.

Placing a hand on the towel wrapped around the boiling pot you felt it was rather warm. Perfect. And you already had cold water. Holding the pot of cold water with as tight of a grip as you could, you flipped it up, over your head. Moments later you heard a high-pitched yelp. Quickly ripping the towel off from around the boiling pot, you tossed it onto Kokichi. “Ah, good. You are very clearly awake now. I just finished breakfast.” While you eat, I’ll set to washing and drying the quilts and sheets and stuff.” Kokichi stared at you with a cold, steelie gaze as you dried off the island, placing the food on it. “No need. You’ll do that tomorrow. Let’s eat!” Even after drying himself off he still held the towel close, parts of it still pleasantly warm.

“Hmm… this is a new low. I don’t even feel like lying.” You looked to him in confusion. He played with his food, lightly poking at it with his fork. “It’s not good, but it’s not bad. Just bland.” Lazily looking to you, he took another bite. “So… you more of a takeout person, or what?” “Uh, more of a… buy everything on sale at the cheapest dollar store. Boxes and boxes of instant pasta or udon, maybe a pack of granola bars if I feel like splurging. I can boil water, and dump things inside safely very well!” Kokichi stared at you, seemingly expecting more, like waiting for the punchline of a joke. “… You’re not lying!?” “Uh… Yeah…?” “No wonder you’re desperate!” “What’s with that smile on your mug!?” “Hmm? Oh, nothing. Now I know I can treat you like total garbage, and you won’t complain since it’s still an improvement from before!” “… Honestly, yeah. Still can’t believe your contract is real, seems too good to be true. Seriously, I’m only working for you for thirty-nine days, and health benefits!? I even get breaks!? How!? An-Kokichi, is something wrong?” He legitimately looked dumbfounded. “Vivi, who hurt you? You need some self-respect!” “Hey, I do have self-respect! Just… Well, you already said so before, I’m desperate for money so who cares about that.” “You are pathetic.”

After breakfast Kokichi gleefully dragged you out into the town. Soon the pair of you stood before a street market. “Now, time for shopping and YOU will take the lead, Vivi!” “Sure, have a list of items?” He held out a list to you momentarily before a sharp smirk creased his lips and he dashed off! “私はすべてを購入するつもりです!” You had no idea what he just said but that evil, childish look on his face as he dashed away could not mean anything good. He laughed as he ran, slipping in and out of shops or stalls, hiding behind shelves or other people. Thinking he had lost you in the crowd he was about to slow his pace, waste some money on something not on the list when suddenly he was tackled, the list ripped from his hand. “Let’s see…” “Wh- Vivi!” “Yes?” “You caught me too soon, that was no fun! How were you so fast!? It’s not fair! Tell me your secret!” “… Huh? What’s… I… ichigaou, ichigo?”

So, when given a task you focused on solely it, duly noted. A rather useful skill, though if you weren’t given breaks in your previous jobs, would you ever take a break if not told? Kokichi pondered such things as he simply walked away. You didn’t think it was a big deal, though when you were going to take out the wallet Kokichi had given you, you found it was missing!? But where-how!? There was no way it could have fallen out of your pocket, right!? It- Kokichi! He HAD to have taken it! But when? When you took the list? Whatever it was, you needed to get it back. Finding Kokichi already at a register you charged at him, successfully scaring him away. He raced up some stairs and you followed after him, ignoring the employees that were yelling at you. You cornered him on the roof. He dashed around, but you, having done this more times than you could count, cornered Kokichi, cutting him off in his path, making sure he had no place to slip out to. Much to Kokichi’s surprise though, you tackled him, and threw him and yourself onto the adjacent roof. Taking his hand, you dragged him along, leaping from roof to roof. The wind crashed into the pair of you as you leaped and ran, making the most of every stride, Kokichi tripping on his own feet behind you. Suddenly you turned, leaping off the roof. Thinking Kokichi was going to scream or get hurt you pulled him close, placing a hand on the back of his head, forcing his face into your chest as you fell, your back towards the ground.

You sighed, successfully landing in the giant pile of cardboard. “Phew. I think we made it.” You slipped the wallet out of Kokichi’s pocket. “Hey! No fair! What was that all about!? You never told me you’re a secret agent!” He tried reaching for the wallet, but you held it out of his reach, using your free arm to try pushing him away. “No, I saw this cardboard pile when we first got here. Also we ran through an ‘employees only area’ I assume and I don’t want to get into trouble so naturally we ran to not get caught.” Before Kokichi could take the list he thought you were paying no mind too, you leaped off the cardboard and trotted back into the shopping ally.

… So you were also observant of your surroundings, something else to keep in mind.

Kokichi followed you around, planning to mess with you as you were shopping, seeing if you were flexible when plans went wrong, like… having less money than you were promised you had to go shopping with but… you just left? “Viiiiiviiiii. Where are we going?” “Shopping.” “… Okay!” Surely you had something planned. And so he followed you to a small convenience store. This was where you did all of your shopping. Even if it didn’t have the exact item you needed, you found a suitable replacement. “… You are really used to this, aren’t you.” “Yep.” Exiting the shop, you dropped the wallet into Kokichi’s hands, seeing you spent less than half of the allowance you were given, and that was with him not so secretly stealing some money from it. You probably only let him do so because you knew you were going to still have extra even if he stole half! You were also very, VERY frugal, another skill of yours to take note of.

"Hey, Vivi, it’s almost lunch time. We better get going!” “Um, it’s only ten.” “Yes, and? It’s going to take use two hours to get to lunch!” To your confusion you were led to a giant lake in a rather massive park. There were a few kinds of boats at the docks but one in particular caught your attention, the one Kokichi hopped into. “… A gondola… in Japan?” “Yes! What, gondolas can’t be in Nippon?” “No, but… please don’t tell me my sneaking suspicion is correct.” He smiled so evilly, confirming your thoughts, but you decided to ask anyway. “Who’s going to… row? Uh, drive this thing?” “YOU, Silly.” “I DON’T KNOW HOW TO PADDLE A BOAT!” “Maybe, but you could have a secret talent for boat rowing Vivi! I believe in your ability to wave a stick in water!” “… Whatever. If the boat tips over it’s your fault since this was your brilliant idea.”

You kept holding your breath, standing on the end of a long hollow log that precariously balanced with Kokichi constantly running around from side to side, admiring the sights, even jumping up to you on occasion holding a pair of binoculars to your eyes, almost toppling you over into the water each time. Your heart pounded every moment the smallest gust of wind came by. When the wind picked up, Kokichi calmed a little, taking to laying down, his head by your feet, looking out to one side of the lake. He draped his arm over the boat, his hand dipped in the water. He hummed, feeling something bump into his hand. Lifting it up he found a sakura petal in hand, droplets of water clinging to it. There was nothing like being on a lake covered in sakura petals. Absolutely beautiful. Maybe even romantic if you were into that sort of thing… yeah Kokichi was into it. If he had a partner, being in solitude with them, surrounded by nature sounded just lovely. He looked up to you, seeing you were still nervous, but certainly more confident and stable footed than before…

You were a very intriguing person. A real cutie to boot. You were also fun. It was rarer for Kokichi to find a person he just so instantaneously clicked with. Someone who drew him in and not the other way around. Hell, you two hadn’t even known one another for a day, and yet, he knew he could be friends with you. It was scary, yet exciting. He now was especially annoyed that the dice only gave him thirty-nine days, but… who knows… maybe, just maybe, even after you leave, if he kept you close by, if you kept spending time with one another and you got along with everyone else… You could be family, join D.I.C.E.. You seemed like a task and detailed oriented person, someone like you would be very helpful, and who knows, you could have even better skills he had yet to find. Like pottery! No one in D.I.C.E. was any good at it, and someone with that skill could certainly expand their horizons. Or, maybe you could be a master of acting and disguises, and be an actual secret agent. But that was all daydreaming. The background check on you was still on-going. He shouldn’t even be considering such fantasies without it, but there he was, doing so anyway. He liked you, that was an undeniable fact. Who knows, maybe the romantic atmosphere was getting to him. Well, he better fix that and see if he still liked you just as much without such mood about.

“Omigod! Vivi! You SUCK at this!” There was laughter in his voice as he abruptly stood up, rocking the boat, and hopped right in front of you, no space between the two of you, rocking the boat further, much to your concern. Perhaps Kokichi miscalculated because this close you were especially gorgeous, and your skin so soft. But you were also gorgeous and had soft skin, who was he to think this was a mistake unless you were uncomfortable. “Here, let me show you!” Taking the oar, he coaxed you into the seating area of the boat, taking your place. He was pleased seeing he made the right choice, finding you rubbing your sore upper arms. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to sing! That’s like, one of the number one rules of driving these things.” The moment he began his serenade you cringed. He was so obviously purposely singing horribly. You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing you hated this, but you couldn’t last for even half a minuet. “Oh my goodness. Kokichi, please stop!” “Huh? Why? I’m at least trying unlike you!” “Trying and failing!” “Vivi, you’re so mean! How could you, I thought we were best friends!” “Well, as best friends, I’m honest with you and that was honestly horribly!” You both smiled, hearing the joking tones in your voices, all this in good fun. “Tch, and you suck at this too, we’re going in circles now!” “Hey! It’s better than you were doing the exact same thing!” “No! I went straight some of the time!”

No wonder Kokichi gave the pair of you two hours to get to lunch. The pair of you ended up playfully bickering, distracting whoever was rowing the boat at the time. Neither of you knew how to properly row the thing so even when you were moving it was often in the wrong direction or in zig-zag patterns. It was a fun, ridiculous experience.

When you eventually reached shore, Kokichi dragged you out to a little café, with dozens of lovely pastries.

The rest of the day was like that, running from place to place always with something to do, either joking or bickering the whole time. You only noticed how exhausted you were when you arrived back at the apartment. It was a good kind of exhausted, the kind one would feel after a great workout session. Tired, but still pumped up for more. Unlike all over nights you didn’t lay awake in bed just waiting to fall asleep, getting lost in thought about how to budget your money for the month, or fearing the horrors of the judicial system you had sent past criminals too, knowing just how messed up it was. You were able to just instantly fall asleep.

…

“psst, hey… hey vivi. wow out like a light.” Leaning back, he fell over, looking to the alarm clock on the bed side table. 81:20, two eighteen. It was a reasonable time. He laid atop the pillow wall, poking your cheek. “Hey, Vivi. Wake up.” You grumbled something, but it was inaudible. “Oh, do you sleep talk, Vivi? Is that your big secret?” He gently blew at your ear, getting you to flinch then, finally, you woke up. “Hey, hey, Vivi.” “huh… yeah?” “You awake too?” “… so you’re not sleep talking?” “What!? Where did you get that idea? I don’t sleep talk silly!” “… Okay, you don’t sleep talk.” “But that’s a lie, or is it?” “… cat in the box.” “… Huh?” You stretched, flipping over to face him. “A science, theory thing. Place cat in box and leave it there for… twenty-four hours or something? Anyway when in box, you don’t know if it’s alive or dead, and you never will know as long as the box is closed. So theoretically it could be both alive and dead? Personally I more so go for many worlds where in one world the cat died and another word where the cat lived, but… but that’s besides the point. Your words are now in a box, so I’ll treat them as both true and false, and… I guess I’ll just believe what I want or think is at least closest to the truth about you. Though… I guess that’s how it’s been from the start. Idon’ know.” You yawned, pulling the quilt up.

So you treat his words like Schrödinger’s cat, that could explain why your own words to him are often an enigma of truth and lies. “… Well that was depressing. Poor cats. Let’s do something fun to cheer ourselves up!” “Watch T.V., but quietly please.” “Nooo. That’s boring. Let’s cook!” “let’s?” “Yeah!” Hopping off the bed he pulled all the quilts and sheets off with you. “C’mon, Vivi!” “… is this a part of work?” “No. And that’s not a lie.” You laid there, seemingly going to go back to sleep, but you slowly rose up, getting Kokichi to laugh in delight as he dragged you to the kitchen.

“Know how to cook rice?” “Uh… rice cooker?” “Good, you’re not completely hopeless in the kitchen!” He then passed you the bag of rice you had bought last morning and a few hooked together measuring cups. “After breakfast this morning, I thought you’d mess up so badly and set cereal on fire for us for breakfast today!” “I’m not that bad!” “Nishishi, poor Vivi, they don’t even realize they burned the pancakes.” “Okay, I know I did not burn those… well, when I was a kid maybe I did once, BUT! That was only because I got distracted by Saturday morning cartoons! And a really good one was on!” “Yu-gi-oh?” Your cheeks instantly flushed red as Kokichi slowly grinned from ear to ear. “… W-WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN GUILTY PLEASURES! SHUT UP! EVEN IF THE CARD GAME IS NONSENSICAL, AND THE SHOW DOESN’T EVEN FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE GAME IT’S… IT’S STUPID AND FUN, OKAY!?” He held up his hands as if play acting innocent. “I never said anything.” “YOUR SMILE SAYS IT ALL! STOP IT! DON’T MAKE FUN OF ME! I BET YOU LIKE SOMETHING REALLY SILLY TOO!” “Nishishi.” “… Why do I feel you saying nothing is worse than you saying something.” “Nishishi.” “Please stop.” “Nishishi.” “Ugh! Just tell me how much rice you want me to get!” “Two cups of rice.” “Okay!” Still red faced you set to work. “Nice, you know to even out the top.” “It’s just logical? If the rice is in a pile that mounds over the cup, then it’s more than just one cup.”

“Now let’s chop some veggies. Quiz time! What’s the safest knife to use?” You were left baffled as to what Kokichi had asked as he took out a knife block and placed it on the counter before getting some of the vegetables you had bought before. “Uh… the… dull, not deadly knives?” “What!? NO! The sharp knives are safer!” As he set about sharpening one of the knives with a knife sharpening stick, he explained. “If you use a dull knife, it can’t cut as well and can shoot off in wonky directions, or because it’s dull you need to use more force to get it to cut, and you’re more likely to hurt yourself like that!” After passing you the knife he coaxed you to the cutting board. “You certainly know your way around knives it seems.” “Duh, I’m the embodiment of all evil and chaos, I know how to most efficiently kill anyone with anyth- NO! Stop! You’re going to chop off a finger like that!” Kokichi scrambled to stop you, holding your hand back from continuing to chop. “Place your thumb and pointer finger on the blade, the area right where it meets the handle… Okay and never slide the knife, slide the food. Keep your food fingers inward… Yeah like that. And chop. Keep your fingertips behind your knuckles so you can use those as a guide.” “A guide?” “The flat not sharp part of the blade can rub against those so you don’t cut at an angle and get your fingers. Good! Now you won’t get blood in the food!” “Ah, too bad. I thought you might care about my safety.” “Nah I don’t-What are you doing!?” You chuckled, seeing for yourself that lie being disproven. “Safety doesn’t matter as long as I don’t bleed, right?” “Ugh! Why did I hire such an unruly troublemaker!”

“I know you can at least handle this step, Vivi. Pour the chopped vegetables in a pot of boiling water!” “Alright.” While that was being done Kokichi poured the now cooked rice into two bowls. “That’s good. We just needed them to heat up. Pour the veggies in here!” Once that was done Kokichi drizzled some soy sauce on the food before placing the bowls and two pairs of chop sticks on the island.

“いただきます。” “I-ita da- uh…” “I” “I” “tada” “tada” “kimasu” “kimasu” “いただきます。” “Itadakimasu?” “You got it!” “I’m worried, did you teach me a swear word or something?” “What no! It just means ‘let’s eat’, kind of. Geeze, why so paranoid?” “You’re a demon, it’s normal to be wary.” “Yeah, but you work for me. I won’t tease and torture you too much. Nishishi.” You stared down at the bowl before you for a moment. You felt a tightness growing in your chest. This… You wished Kokichi had nothing to do with the Dice case or crime at all. It… it would be hard to bring yourself to arrest him. “Vivi, are you crying?” “N-no.” You blinked a few times. “I just… thank you. For teaching me how to make a dirt-cheap meal.” “Don’t thank me. I’m not that nice! I’m just trying to get you on a better diet, so you don’t die on me. I take care of my slaves.” “Hmm, ‘not that nice’ so you admit you are nice. You’re an interesting demon dictator.”

You were rather confused as to why Kokich was scarfing his food down so quickly. What was he planning you wondered. “Now! It’s time to duel!” “Huh?” To your confusion he sprinted to the broom closet, then came back moments later with a square tin and a thick binder. Upon him opening that tin he took out several decks of those cards. “You play!” “OH, how could I forget!” He slid one of the decks to you. “I never gave you your starter set.” “I thought that part of the contract was a joke! Like you made fun of the series and didn’t actually play it!” “Vivi, I’m a demon! Of course I play a children’s card game where you die if you lose, wait, you’re not Japanese so you watched the 4kids version. Where when you lose your soul gets sent to the shadow realm!” “Oh this is stupid! All my decks are back home! But… maybe starting with the starter set would be best. I haven’t played in years. I think the last time was sis’ twenty-third birthday? Or was it big bro’s wedding?” “If you want you could look through my binder and recreate your decks, but… you have siblings?” “Yeah, my big brother, two little brothers and sister.”

Every moment was like this with Kokichi. Everything was always a new adventure, and with him around, even the most simple of actions was a new fun life experience. It seemed merely being with him made the world more colorful, more lively. The excitement could be a bit much at times, but it was completely worth it. Even the nights when you got little sleep, Kokichi waking you up so he could teach you more quick, cheap recipes. Everything was always fun, even just talking was. His words were often twisted and warped, but the conversations still felt real, like you truly were connecting with one another. It was like a dream but not, because you knew it all was oh so real. Never before had life been so great. You loved this. Life is about constant change but you wished things could stay like this forever, after all everything was still changing so maybe… Everyday you were tested on new skills no matter what they were like pottery, or scuba diving, or animal balloon making, or cleaning, Kokichi even had you write a bed time story for him once. Each and every day was never similar to another, the only constants was being with the man, teatime, cooking a simply cheap meal in the early morning hours and a round of Yu-gi-oh after. This… it was so lovely. You loved this, this life with Kokichi so much. It was likely the happiest and most stable your life had ever been.

But all things must come to an end at some point. You were dreadfully reminded of that when Kokichi wanted to test you on your accounting skills. This… it was your big chance. To see if Kokichi was connected to the Dice case, transactionally at least. Even if he didn’t deal with the money, it was possibly he could be connected in some other way. Although as much as you wanted to dive right into the deep end and prove to yourself Kokichi was clear of any suspicion, you couldn’t exactly do that with him looking over your shoulder. All you could do was try to scratch the surface and make notes of specific things to check up on in more detail later.

“Hmm? You really are a philanthropist.” “Obviously!” “But… where did you get all this money? You have so many large transactions for charities and hospitals and the like. How can you afford all this, and why live here? I’m sure you could afford some place much bigger. Maybe hire an actual live-in maid.” The small apartment was likely to keep a low profile… I-IF he was connected to crime… if… “Yeah, inheritance. Grandpa was really into stocks and those payed off. With my parents and grandma dead there were no more heirs and I got it all. As for the apartment… well… a big one would be awfully lonely. A giant place with no one around. I don’t exactly have any family to share it with anymore. It’s… just me really. It’d be no fun and just remind me how alone I truly am…” “…” You wanted to say something but weren’t sure what. It could be a lie, it could be the truth. This could be to cover his tracks, or it could be a half truth. Kokichi was not purely trickster, there were times he was honest and serious, after all if he did nothing but lie he’d be predictable, he couldn’t stand to be that, you knew that much about him by now. So… could this…

“Oh, Vivi! That reminds me! It’ll be mom and dad’s wedding anniversary next week! I should send them a check or buy them a new car!” And thus he took his checkbook and other such things you were going through… He didn’t give those back to you. It was fine, you still had much time to keep working under Kokichi, and now you had an idea of how Kokichi could be connected to if not the Dice case in particular at least the black market. He might not have realized you looking through would give you a hint as to his connections to it. Only a trained eye would have noticed it, and that you were. You were a detective first and foremost. It was your job to reveal the truth for better or for worse, and to do all you could to help all those affected by it… everyone

Maybe whatever job Kokichi would get for you would pay you enough so you could give to the same charities and hospitals in his place, even if you had to live like you did as a detective.

At least you knew some good, cheap recipes now, so it’d be a little better than before.

…

… right?

maybe…

you couldn’t be sure till the time arrived.

…

Till you got him arrested…

Till after that…

Kokichi half-mindedly played his videogame, laying atop the bed he looked out the balcony where you were hanging clothes to dry on the hanger. Your back was to him. You seemed to have gotten depressed recently, yet he couldn’t pinpoint exactly when or why the change happened. It was a small slight difference. The pair of you still had fun almost every moment with one another, and yet… He didn’t want to pry, it could just be an issue you needed to work through on your own, or there wasn’t anything and you were just feeling sad for no reason. That can happen and having days like that were fine. But… he couldn’t stand doing nothing. Maybe he could at least show you he was around if you ever just wanted to talk. But what to do, what to do indeed.

With the clothes secured you went back inside, leaving the door open, the wind made the stuffy room feel refreshed. Kokichi kept playing his hand-held, the bright warm sun landing on the bed, and Kokichi’s hair, making his bedhead look absolutely lovely with that bright purple. “Hey I’m cleaning the bed and putting it in sofa mode.” “Sure.” Rolling off the bed he landed on the ground with a loud thud, something you paid no mind to, tending to the bed. “…” “…” “A ‘are you aright’ would be nice you know.” “Yeah, but I thought I’d see how you’d react this time before saying anything. See if you’d cry or say it was no big deal.” “So you’d only be concerned if I said something? You’re so cold Vivi!… I wouldn’t have it any other way!” With the bed put away and the sofa set up, you moved the small glass table before it, before sitting down.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” You picked up the T.V. controller and started to randomly flip through channels. “If we’re going to do any water-based activities, I’d like to know so I can bring my swimsuit this time.” “Oh, come now. Not knowing what we’ll do is half the fun!” “… I guess. Huh?” “What is it, Vivi?” You were watching the local news channel. A nearby museum was closing for the week due to the appearance of a pair of dice on an ancient clay pot. “… Weird, who would want to steal some grubby clay?” “… yeah, who would?” This made no sense. Dice only ever stole paintings, wooden artifacts, gems, or metal artifacts, the occasional weapon but mostly armor.” This was new. This was fake, it was not Dice. Unfortunately, you had only caught the tail end of the report not getting the chance to see much else. You wondered what Dice was going to do, were they going to announce the event was fake or go through with it? Little did you know, Kokichi was thinking the exact same thing.

“Hey, Vivi. Want to use one of your days off today?” “I suppose I could, but why?” “Eh, well… I may have been delaying my own work when testing you. I just want to play, but money’s not going to make itself. I don’t want you to sit around here all day expecting me to drag you around. Have your own adventure. Think of this like a test of independence. Yeah! Vivi! Have the most exciting day EVER! And tell me all about it when you get back! And don’t lie! Think on your feet! Show me what you can do on your own! I’ll have some subordinate check that all that you say is true.” “So this is not a day off, and is still work.” “Yeaaah. I changed my mind. Sorry, not sorry.” “Well… I still barely know the language, should make things interesting.” You stood up, going to get dressed for an unknown outing. When you exited the bathroom, you found Kokichi’s wallet next to the apartment keys on the glass table. “Buy yourself something nice.” “… I…” You looked inside. “This is too much, I can’t-” “It’s fine. Think of it like an advance.” “…” You took some money out and placed it on the table.” “If this is an advance, you gave me a little too much. But… thank you.” With that said you said your goodbyes before exiting the apartment.

Kokichi held up in his office and you on your phone were doing the same thing. Reaching out to your respective contacts trying to find out as much information as you could. You were able to contact an old buddy who gave strict orders to not take part in this. The real authorities already knew this was fake. Turns out a pair of dice appeared at a gem collection in Europe a few days prior and like all other Dice cases, it was kept under wraps as to not let the public know there was an international phantom thief around. This new case about a clay pot that just so happened to be the newest exhibit at the museum was first reported to the news outlets, before the police. Clearly this was a publicity stunt, so you were not to show up since it had nothing to do with your investigation. It was no surprise that news of Dice had gotten out, but to use the thief as an ad? Were they going to hire an actor or fake the whole thing behind closed doors? This was just stupid.

You sighed, being a little frustrated about the whole debacle, but there was nothing you were allowed to do. You decided to focus on work and tried to have a fun day on your own! You initially wandered around not sure as to what to do. Kokichi was always so sporadic, able to make an event out of everything. You looked around and had no idea what to do and it was not just because you could still hardly read a thing. You just… couldn’t find anything. The few times you did find something you were still in a habit of skipping it, needing to save money and by the time you remembered you did have money to spend you were already several blocks away and didn’t feel like going back. You ended up buying some new clothes, a children’s learning Japanese book.

You sat in a park, reading the book aloud trying to memorize the katakana and hiragana. It was then you got a text from Kokichi. ‘Taking your tea break?’ Oh shoot, it was past noon already? ‘I’ll get to that now.’ ‘Vivi, it’s a tea break, not another task. Try to relax.’ You stood up about to look up a tea shop when you got another text. ‘Where are you at?’ You hesitantly sent your location. Waiting for a response you looked up to the sky, noticing the dark clouds that began to come together overhead.

“Vivi!” “Skipping work, I see.” “Yeah, too boring! OH! What have you got there?” “A book.” Kokichi then picked up the bag beside you. “And this!?” “Some formal wear since I actually have the money to buy something pricy. I rarely if ever have events to go to where clothes like that could be required but at least I’m prepared now.” “… Wear it!” “Huh?” “Wear it! Wear it! I wanna see!” Kokichi kept shoving the bag into your arms, in the tussle dropping the box he was carrying when first arriving. “C’mon! I want to see what you got. A dress? A suit? Oh! I know! You got a bedazzled clown costume!” “… Speaking of, why are you dressed like that? I thought you were working?” Mostly purple, yellow and red with some splashes of dark blue it looked to be a suit and clown costume hybrid. Not exactly silly and chaotic but not orderly and calm either. It was pleasant yet garish to the eye, a mess of contradictions much like its wearer. Kokichi kept striking various poses as he continued to speak. “Vivi. Don’t you know you need to dress properly for work? Dress to impress as they say.” “I suppose so.” “So come on! Go get dressed in your new number and we’ll get back to work after our tea break!” He flipped you around, pushing you towards the restrooms.

When you exited you found Kokichi bouncing around, seemingly unable to keep still. When he spotted you he gasped, then grinned from ear to ear. “Finally! What took you so long? I thought you ditched me to go out with someone else!” “I, what? Go out with someone else? And I was only in there for a few minutes- though to you it seems that’s a long time I suppose.” “Go out on our date! Duh. Why else would we be so gussied up?” Wait. Did… Is Kokichi taking you out on a date? And… is it because you said you didn’t have any occasions to get dressed up… “Uh, Vivi? Hello?” Him waving his hand before your face snapped you back to reality. “Ah! Sorry! I got lost in thought for a moment. So, we’re off on our date?” “Exactly and first we’ll have tea!” Taking your hand he dragged you away. You noticed under his arm was the box he had dropped before.

Kokichi looked around, searching for the perfect place for tea. Instead he spotted something all too familiar. A shadowy figure tying to stay out of sight. So he was found out already. He had been staying in the same spot for far too long, it was inevitable he’d be found out. At this point it was certain whoever was mad at him this time figured out you were working for him and were likely going to target you, if they had not already. “Ooh, let’s go this way!” He raced out of the park and into the bustling walkway. Running around he needed to think of a quick escape. Then the pair of you dashed into the hotel where Kokichi got you to sign his contract. In the elevator he smashed a button and off you went to whatever floor. From there you leaped down stairs to the underground floor where all the cars were kept. Taking out his phone you caught a glimpse of what Kokichi wrote. ‘borrowing your car explain later’ He pulled out a ring filled to the brim with keys and unlocked the car. Kokichi then sped away. “Kokichi! The speed limit!” “It’s fine, as long as no one gets hurt it doesn’t matter!” “… Is this revenge for scaring you with the knife when you first taught me to cook!?” “Nishishi.” “Kokichi!” He kept laughing, distracting you from the car that was tailing you. As smart as you were, you had a tendency to make connections with even the smallest of hints, allowing you to make the excuses for him. A habit of yours he needed to abuse to shield you from knowing of these murder attempts. Under normal circumstances he would tell you, but because you were only temporarily working for him, he didn’t want to make you paranoid, even after you left. He also needed to not attract the attention of the police, after all, as fun running from the cops was, a. he didn’t want to drag you into a life of crime if that was not what you wanted, and b. he didn’t want you to get into trouble, you unlike he could not afford to be reckless.

“Let’s stop here!” Exiting the car, the pair of you found it was drizzling. You were at the edge of town. It was much more barren than the heart of the city, but there were a few tall buildings. It was sunset. “This is perfect!” “I think you and I have different definitions of ‘perfect’. We’ll get sick if we stay out here too long, and I doubt you brought an umbrella.” “It’ll be fine. Now come on, to the roof top!” Kokichi then climbed onto the roof of the car, unpacking whatever was in the box. Once you got up you found it was a tea set. The pair of you made some light banter as Kokichi collected rainwater in the pot, you saying it was inefficient and he that it was ecofriendly. The view was gorgeous. The oranges, yellows, purples, and dark blues all melding into one another in the sky, those dark gray clouds obscuring your view, the sun’s rays stark and piercing around the buildings that blocked them, and the rain that mixed it all together in a haze. Even with the wetness you didn’t mind. You loved this. “Tea’s ready!” “Thank you.” After giving you your cup, Kokichi scooted over, snuggling up to you, leaning his head on your shoulder. “This sucks, it’s so cold.” “This was your idea.” “Whatever, I’m cold, warm me up.” “Why should I?” “You’re my date, Vivi! And you’re doing an awful job at it! Come, sweep me off my feet! Make me swoon!” “I don’t know about all that, but…” You wrapped your arms around him, pulling him even closer. “I suppose I could try keeping you warm.” Too busy watching the sunset you didn’t notice how Kokichi’s cheeks flushed red from that one action. Kokichi hated this so much! He was so embarrassed at how that one action got him to so easily melt under your touch. Just that was able to do exactly what he had asked. Nuzzling into you, he wondered if he was loving this just a bit too much.

When the sun had set, when more clouds covered the sky and the rain fell in earnest, Kokichi sneezed. “Alright, no more of this nonsense, we need to get home. You’re going to get sick if we don’t.” “Home?” It then hit you what you just said. “Y-your home! What, do I need to explain everything I say in detail now?” Kokichi simply hugged you tightly, grinning at you. “I didn’t say anything.” “SHUT UP!” “Nishishi.” Why did you have to be so cute he wondered. You slid off the car with Kokichi still clinging to you. “Stop hugging me and just unlock the car, please.” “Okay, okay.” Once inside you slammed you head into the dash. “Vivi?” You groaned. “… I left all the clothes drying on the balcony.” Kokichi stared at you for a moment, surprised by the sudden realization. Then he smiled… A giggle bubbled up from him which quickly grew into laughter. “Hey!” His laughter however, was not the teasing ‘Nishishi’ you had come so accustomed too… it was a deep and rumbling laughter erupting from within his chest. “D-dang it, Kokichi!” Your lips were pulled into a smile, hearing that lovely sound. His expression was so soft matching such beautiful laughter that felt so… unguarded. A giggle soon blossomed within you, blooming into laughter as well. There was no joke, no misfortune, or any unhappiness that caused this laughter. It was an uplifting laughter, one of absolute satisfaction with life. No one was laughing at you, or the now wet clothes. It was simply a joyous laughter, in love with and enraptured by that single moment in time where everything seemed to be nothing but put pure bliss in its rawest form.

When you arrived back at the apartment Kokichi insisted you dry off first while he got the clothes. After dinner the pair of you sat side by side on the sofa half mindedly watching whatever pictures flashed across it. “Hey Kokichi.” “Yeah.” “… I think I’m going to take up walking in the evenings. That alright?” “Sure, but why?” “I think walking around has helped me clear up my thoughts, figure out some things that have been bothering me. I’d like to keep walking.” “Sure, do whatever you want. You don’t need to ask me for permission, it’s not like I’m your boss or something.” “You are my boss.” “… Oh yeah. Forgot about that.” “Yeah right.” “No, I really did you meanie.” “Oh no, ‘meanie’ that hurt so much.” Even if he didn’t forget, for a moment, he could pretend he did. Pretend… things were a little different between the two of you. Give himself a temporary kind lie… He also made a note to himself to get someone to watch out for you on these strolls, just incase any idiots got any ideas of taking you out during that time.

“I’m going out for my stroll.” “I’ll be locked in the office.” “I know.” It had quickly become routine for Kokichi to work when you left for your strolls. It was the only time he ever worked not spending it instead showering his attention on you. Ofttimes you’d go to sleep on your own but about an hour or so later you’d slightly stir, realize it was just Kokichi hugging you before going back to sleep. This, Kokichi found to be very convenient for that night in particular, he had business to attend too that may go late into the night. After all, the Phantom Thief D.I.C.E. needed to clear their name. Black lace-up thigh high boots with white laces and a dark purple trimming, long black and white checkered pants, a single incredibly long red belt wrapped around his waist twice as well as the thigh of one of his legs, a white button up shirt under a half black half white button up vest each had large rainbow buttons, a fluttery black and white checkered ascot, long white coat that reached his ankles the inside a light and dark purple checkered pattern, white gloves, a black cape with popped up collar, several white belts wrapped around his shoulders held up the cape, his precious signature mask, and black top hat with a light yellow ribbon adorned him, his uniform as the phantom thief. He never made a caper without it, even if he wasn’t going to do exactly that tonight.

He went over the plan he and his nine other members had made a thousand times over, needing this to go perfectly. This would simultaneously be an easier and more difficult caper than usual. With so much media coverage a crowd had formed, wanting to get a glimpse of the supposedly magical thief. They’d make for easy cover but also make sneaking in the real challenge when normally it was the other way around.

Kokichi sighed, surveying the scene from a nearby rooftop, leaning against some chain link fencing. It was certainly a mess. Then Kokichi heard a beep in his right ear signaling he was getting a message. “Ready Boss?” He smirked. “I always am!” “One last thing before you go.” “Yeah?” Then another voice popped in. “Vivian seems to be curious about the commotion. They’re keeping a distance but walking in a large circle around the place.” Then a third voice chimed in. “Boss, want us to change the escape plan if they’re nearby?” He shook his head and placed his hands into his pockets. “Nah, I don’t see what the fuss is about. Besides if they do see me, it’ll just make this all the more exciting, don’t you think!” “Yeah, yeah, we get it. You wanna see your crush.” “Ew, don’t talk about the Boss’ crush! He’ll just talk about them for hours again!” “Let the Boss have fun, I don’t think he’s ever warmed up to someone so quickly. You know they must be something if they can pull that off. I’m just waiting till they join us.” “Oh! Right, how’s the betting pool on that going! I forget who’s keeping the playing chips. Not the Boss I hope.” “SHUSH! You just let the Boss know!” Kokichi couldn’t stifle his laughter hearing they were now betting on this. “Hey, hey! Can I join?” Simultaneously all of them yelled ‘no’. “You have an unfair advantage!” “Yeah! It wouldn’t be fun that way!” “Okay, fine, geez. Didn’t realize you all hated me THAT much.” “No, we don’t. We love you Boss.” “You’re the best Boss!” “You’re amazing! A real joker in a deck of cards!” “Aw~ Thank you guys~ Now. Let’s get this show started, shall we?” “You got it Boss!” “Ready for your count down?” There was a pause as he adjusted his hat, making sure the wind wouldn’t spirit it away. “Certainly.”

“5.” He took a step forward, right at the edge of the rooftop. “4.” He plummeted towards the ground, turning to see the starlit sky. A new voice popped into his ear. “Something wrong Boss? You sighed again.” “3.” “Nothing you haven’t heard already.” “2.” “This is going to be boring without them around?” “1.” “Yeah. But we’ll have that fixed soon enough. Time’s already almost up after all.” “NOW!” Taking a gun that was hidden under his cape he took aim, shooting it towards the sky. Suddenly feeling his decent stop despite gravity still pulling he knew the hook had made it’s mark. “Hey Boss, can I use the hook shot- I mean grappling hook?” “Sure!” Even with his mask slightly obscuring the sight he got to see a gorgeous view of the bright city, the lights twinkling even more than the stars above. “So what ‘cha going to use it for?” Once at the apex of the swing, parallel with the sky and ground, he pressed the trigger again the hook instantly retracting. For a moment there Kokichi was suspended in air neither rising nor falling. Tethered there by absolutely nothing. It was a momentary limbo, the most extraordinary of experiences that would never happen again… That single moment… it reminded him of you. As much as he wanted to preserve that moment of time for eternity, it was impossible, so the very least he could do was make the most of everything while he could still hold you close. Kokichi shot again, racing through the air towards his target. “Hmm. Don’t know yet. Just want to use it.” Another one of his family members joined the call. “I know! We can tie the rope to my car, and we’ll drive around with you on a pair of roller skates!” “I don’t know. Can we turn this into a prank somehow?” “Good question!” He stopped himself from wondering what it’d be like to hear your voice on the line, what you’d say and how you’d banter with the others. He didn’t want to daydream of times he knew would likely never happen. He was going to live in the moment, and not waste it wishing things were different.

Once he arrived at the appointed spot, he pressed a button on the side of the gun which began to slowly descend him downward. On the ground he disguised himself as an officer he knocked out, stealing everything on him before hiding the body where it would be found by morning, if not sooner. It was pathetic how simple it was sneaking into the building. The curator or whoever placed that fake calling card was begging for something to happen tonight. Sad really. That desperate with such a lack of confidence in the exhibits. It was entirely their fault for not placing any passion in their work. If they did surely people would be swarming the place. People were naturally attracted to those with confidence, it compels you to listen to them, even if it’s complete nonsensical ramblings with no meaning.

There were a few officers in the room with the artifact, three. This was just… Another voice popped on. “What do they take us for!? Look if they want us to rob them that badly they could at least make this a challenge!” Kokichi walked into the room casually, waving to the officers. Distracted by that they didn’t notice the small metal orb he dropped behind himself, and the sleeping gas that immediately seeped out of it. “Of course, it would be. They. The only person who stands a chance against us, of making things interesting, they’re gone.” “But we’re gonna fix that! Right, Boss?” “Right.” Taking out a drawing compass like device, expanding it to just shy of half the size of the side, he placed it on the glass case and spun it in a circle before removing the glass circle it made. He slipped a manilla envelope and a paper inside before placing the circle back. Taking a mini blowtorch, quickly sealing the circle just enough so it wouldn’t easily pop out.

Then he heard some officers arriving. “Oh my god, finally!” When the officers burst onto the scene they found the thief with a hand on his hip, an elbow resting on the top of the case, and his chin resting on the back of his hand. Then in a flash the entire room was filled with smoke. While many chased after the thief some stayed behind finding the artifact was untouched, not even by the envelope and paper which were leaning against the glass case. The paper was a note, stating the thief was not a tool to be used for other’s gain, and that there would be retaliation for such action. The envelope was filled with evidence about the shady dealings of the museum. Embezzlement, fraud, the works. The evidence itself could not be used in a court of law, but it was certainly more than enough to make news outlets go mad for an hour before the next big story broke out. In all likely hood an investigation would get underway.

“Hey guys, I’m changing the plan. That was way too easy so let’s have a chase!” “Sure thing Boss. No one’s gone near the getaway bike so you’re good to go.” Dashing into the darkened alleyway Kokichi hopped onto the motorcycle and sped away. Moments later the cops were already after him. “He Boss.” “Yeah?” “I don’t mean to alarm you, but Vivian’s being tailed by some crooks. Want me to make contact or intervene the baddies? It seems they already know and are trying to get to cov-… I don’t like the look of this.” “Where’s Vivian?” “The crossroads of X and Y street.” “I’m on my way.” “You better think fast Boss! If you go that way you’ll be sandwiched by the police.” He leaned over taking a sharp turn on the empty sidewalk, almost skidding against the ground. He weaved in and out between cars against the flow of traffic, terrifying everyone he zipped past. “What’s happening?” “I don’t know. I’ve lost sight of Vivian!” “Really!?” Damn it, damn it, damn it. “Where did you last see them?” “The end of Y street, then they sprinted around the building and out of sight.” “Got it.” His cape kept snapping in the wind as he revved the engine, going at full speed. Rounding the corner, he found you sprinting, ducking into an alleyway. An alleyway a car was headed straight for! “Y/N!” He reached a hand out to you, he only had one shot at this! You immediately did the same, as he raced passed, he took your hand, crashing you into the bike. Before it could topple over and crash, he slammed his hand on a button, ejecting the spring-loaded seat, sending the pair of you flying high into the air. He clutched as tightly as he could to you, seeing the car crashed directly at where you were. This was stupid, trying to make a murder look like an accident, it was obvious that crash couldn’t have happened naturally. Perhaps it was not such a good idea to piss off those hotblooded newbies. They acted before they thought anything out. They were not going to last long like this. In what appeared to be a single movement the cape was now part of a paraglider, whisking the pair of you away from the scene.

You, your mind was reeling. One moment some hitman was trying and failing to shoot you and the next you were in the sky. The hell was happening!? Moments later, whatever was keeping you in the air collapsed, but you didn’t fall far. You immediately took a few steps back, your balance wavering, but the person before you took your hands in an incredibly tight, trembling grip, keeping you steady. It was then you got a good look at your savior. You… you had never seen anyone like this before. It couldn’t but could it… You were dumbfounded your mind more befuddled than before. The soft warm lights of the city wrapped around the pair of you, casting the figure in an almost mysterious glow. The stars though dulled by the city, still looked to be so bright. They let go of one of your hands and cupped your cheek. You flinched, feeling a sharp sting as their thumb caressed you. Seems like a bullet managed to graze you. Somehow your heart pounded in your chest more than when you were running for your life. Wait! Suddenly snapped back to reality, no longer lost in the moment you tackled the figure to the ground, throwing yourself and them into a wall as a gunshot rang out. “Run! The police will get here soon. I’ll be safe with them.” The masked figure stared at you, momentarily taking your hand, squeezing it before running away.

Just as you said moments later the police had arrived. There turned out to be no one in the crashed car, and some hot shot with a sniper rifle was promptly arrested. You were taken to the local police station for questioning about the incident, about your run-in with the phantom thief, and your secret identity, along with your detective work. Kokichi made it back to the apartment. He flopped onto the sofa, burying his face into his hands. This was so messed up. You were hired two months after they made their deal. You had nothing to do with this, nothing with D.I.C.E aside from working for some apart of it, but you didn’t work for the group, they shouldn’t be targeting you. And now you were stuck with the police for who knows how long. He watched the news of the incident. Moments later he saw the plan had worked. D.I.C.E sent the evidence to every news outlet they could possibly find. With it public, there was no way the police could simply ignore it, they’d have to investigate.

Though their goal was achieved tonight… there was something Kokichi could not have calculated or predicted. He had a choice tonight, a possibly life changing one. Leave you to be questioned by the police or take you with him. If he had taken you with him, you’d be forced to choose a side, turn Kokichi in as is your duty as a detective, or join him in this life of crime. In the circumstance you could not continue your investigation of Kokichi because you literally had the phantom thief in your grasp. If he escaped then when you were unprepared there was no way you’d ever be allowed near the Dice case again given how others already looked so poorly on you. It’d just be the last flimsy nail in your coffin. It would jeopardize your investigation into the possible groups connected to Dice. By letting the police take you now you were given a third option. Continue your investigation of Kokichi. There was only a slim chance you’d be able to pull that off, but life is a series of chances, and he was willing to take a bet on you. This way, Kokichi was in no way forcing you into this position. You yourself told him to run and to leave you behind. He wondered if you had the same thoughts he was having right now or was your first instinct just to protect him. He wouldn’t be surprised given you always tried seeing the world the way others do. You were empathetic to Kokichi’s plight and told him to take the easy option. Even so, as far as he knew you had nothing on yourself for protection. The very least he could have done was leave you with something but that would directly tie you to the thief and once again force you to choose a side. He didn’t want that. He wanted you to take your time and figure out what you truly wanted in life, not place you in that position before you were ready. Even so, if you couldn’t convince the authorities that you were making progress in your investigation, you’d be kicked out of the case entirely. It seemed you were barely able to convince the head of the case to allow you to investigate the groups possibly connected to the phantom thief. He held up those white gloves, examining the red staining the thumb…

In truth, Kokichi was not a gambling man. If he ever did something, he was certain of its outcome but sometimes you had no choice but to take a chance… He hated this uncertainty. He regretted not hugging you when he had the chance. That moment of holding your hand on the rooftop… there was a chance that could be the last time he ever saw you. Sure, he could track you down, but… would you want that? He didn’t want to place you in an even worse position or make you hate him. But there was no point in worrying over that. Whatever would happen, would happen and he’d deal with it all then. For now, all he could do was wait and see.


	3. A True rival

A little after one in the morning Kokichi began to ask where you were. A whole day had passed, and you still hadn’t responded. He sent more texts at first joking that he was such a task master you ran away but soon he couldn’t keep that up. Collectively D.I.C.E. without Kokichi’s say so decided to look into this and see if you were fired from partaking in the case completely. If so, they’d send you a professional looking e-mail telling you your contract was not completed so you could come back and work for Kokichi still. Sure, you agreed to it under a fake identity that likely would be taken away from you once fired, but they didn’t care.

By the fifth day you still hadn’t responded, Kokichi knew he couldn’t dillydally any longer. The item he had stolen from his last real caper had been returned to its rightful owner, so he needed to get to his next target. If he was going to make it for his next caper he was going to have to leave by tomorrow. He slowly began to pack up, occasionally checking his phone, only to be disappointed by no new texts from you. Truthfully, he did not have much to pack. He lived a rather minimalistic lifestyle, needing to keep a low profile and so moving would be quick and easy. Being an international thief meant moving house a lot, so having less stuff was just convenient. He never grew attached to the places he lived at, knowing they were temporary, the longest he had lived in one location since taking up this business was five months and that was in the very beginning when he was still trying to figure out what he was doing. Other than that… this time was the longest he had stayed in one place. Hiring a new person in an unstable environment was not a good start. There had been many people he had hired, none he grew particularly fond of, he liked them how one would like their acquaintance. It was nice finding some hidden skill of theirs and pulling some strings to get them a nice job. But… he never met someone like you before. You were a mess of contradictions yet still stayed true to yourself. Much like him. Never before had he met someone he was so instantly attached to like he was with you. Even things he associated with you pulled at his heartstrings, like the apartment. Since starting this career this was the first time he found himself missing the place even as he packed… He shook his head, trying to get the thought out of his mind. Moving was for the best. Because he associated this place with you, of getting in the way as you did chores, or cooking in the morning hours, or playing Yu-gi-oh to decide who’d clean the dishes or throwing out the pillow wall so he could snuggle up to you in bed, or simply sitting around laughing at one another or making fun of one another or simply talking…

Wait… what was he thinking about again? His mind kind of just wandered to you with out him even meaning too. Was he thinking about… YEAH! He was thinking of how because this place was so associated with you despite the pair of you spending the majority of your time running and bouncing around the city that it was best he leave this place, for it’d just keep getting him to think of you, like it was doing so even when he was merely packing the last tin of Yu-gi-oh cards into the box. Now… there were three more things he needed to decide what to do with. With all his personal effects packed away he sat on the sofa, staring at the Yu-gi-oh starter pack, children’s learning Japanese book, and your clothing the fancy ones neatly pressed and folded atop the rather small pile. What was he to do with these? Obviously, you lied sometimes because you were undercover like your name, but you were rather blunt and honest in most aspects to an extent, like how poor you are. Looking into your old salary Kokichi was surprised you hadn’t died of malnutrition a while ago. You truly were poor, and likely didn’t have much of anything because of it. Maybe he’d find your address and send this to you with a note saying it was fun hanging out? Maybe invite you to work for him again? After setting up another box he gently placed the items inside. Whatever he was going to do with these, it would have to be delt with later.

Standing at the front door, it was not all that strange seeing the place so empty given he kept most of his personal effects in the closet-office. Still though, knowing he was moving made him a little sad. As he made his way for the airport he found himself daydreaming of you texting back saying you were just held in questioning for a long time, of him surprising you with the fact the pair of you were moving, of being able to poke fun at one another on the long, boring, tiring plane ride, maybe even chat with you leading the conversation about why you were missing then try to get your perspective on the phantom thief, did you find them dashing as they saved you, did you fall in love with them, oh my, it’d… it’d be fun. Maybe even tease you and get you to blush or laugh. Just… just knowing you were happy would be enough. At least just that. If you were happy where you were, he could find some solace in that.

As the plane took off, getting higher and higher into the sky he wondered if you would text him now that his phone was on airplane mode. Looking out the window seeing more and more land beneath him, he wondered if his vision were sharp enough, he could see you. Maybe exiting the police station or standing before the old apartment. He did send you a text saying he was moving and to contact him so he could get you to where he was going. He texted you saying he took your stuff unable to wait for you any longer and to contact him to get it back. He wondered where you were and what you were doing right now. Were you happy? Could he know at least that much? Or if you had more work lined up? Did you at least have enough money to get food? At least that. Could he know that? That you were alright? At least? Just… something along those lines would be nice.

Before he knew it, he had landed in the U.K. first thing he did was turn off airplane mode and wait a few minuets but there was nothing from you. Even if you were fired from taking part in the Dice case you could still text him, right? Probably not if you wanted to keep you job as a detective.

Was it possible Kokichi made a mistake? Never before did he meet a person like you. Was meeting you a once in a lifetime opportunity? Though he tries to make the most of every moment in life, maybe he didn’t with you. Maybe if he had done something differently, you’d be by his side right now, helping him move these boxes into this new apartment. Frustrated at himself he dropped the box with a loud thud onto the ground. He needed to stop thinking of ‘what if’ like this! What’s done is done, and what will be will be, he’ll experience and make those decisions in the moment. For now, he needed to focus on the present, even if you weren’t here.

By the time he finished unpacking he felt exhausted and limply crawled into bed. Yet once he was there sleep eluded him. He was a light sleeper, but this was ridiculous. He tossed and turned for hours to no avail. He tried getting up and going on an adventure into town, to which he’d make it to the living room before collapsing on the couch. This was stupid. Was he seriously unable to sleep with you gone!? He screamed into a pillow as loudly and for as long as he could, frustrated at everything, mostly himself for not being able to function now. He screamed and screamed till finally he fell asleep… Only for a moment later to be awoken by his new neighbors knocking at his door, complaining about how noisy he was.

Each day he and the Rest of D.I.C.E. would try to look for you, through paper trails, or even searching around the police station, apartment, places the two of you had been before, even the sight of the car crash, but still no sign of you. It was as if you just suddenly disappeared off the grid completely. Though unlikely, was it possible that… just maybe… something happened to you? Could those hot-blooded kids have gotten to you? He didn’t want to think of it, but… it could be possible.

…

Kokichi wound up taking some sleeping pills the night before his latest caper, forcing himself to get some rest. As his mind began to blur and his eye lids drooped, he thought of you, just as he had been the days prior. When the background check on you was finished, when he had learned of your real identity. He was not too surprised you were apart of the Dice case. Only a person like you would ever stand a chance at catching him, no other. That was why things had started to get a bit more difficult for a while. Maybe that was why the two of you were able to so quickly and easily connect to one another, because indirectly you already knew through you trying to think like him and catch him and he trying to avoid your out smarting him… Maybe this caper would be a bit more interesting since it wasn’t a publicity stunt… but not as much as when you assisted in his arrest. No one could even come close to you in that regard.

A full twenty-six hours later he awoke to hearing that blaring alarm go off. Picking up the phone, squinting, and with one hand partly covered his eyes, shielding them from the blinding brightness of the screen. It was indeed time. He groggily got out of bed, still not feeling all too great. Whether he was truly up for it or not, the show must go on.

Standing on a rooftop he surveyed his target. It looked much more desolate than last time, as it should be. Placing a hand on the outer rim of the mask he pressed a button, turning on his radio. “And the-” “It’s ready!” “Aw! I’m so excited! The Boss is going to love this!” “Oh? What is it!? What am I going to love?” “When did-” “THIS CAPER AND NOTHING ELSE!” “Good save.” “Shut up!” Huh, so his family had a surprise for him. This though brough back some much-needed motivation to Kokichi. He smirked, now excited to see what may lay in wait not far ahead.

“Uh- SO, you ready Boss?” “Of course! I’m always prepared for any and all surprises!” “The crime tonight!” “Oh yeah, that too.” “Want your count down?” He crossed his arms, pacing from one end of the roof to another hemming and hawing before coming to a stop at the edge. “Sure!” “5” With a single step he went plummeting down. “4” Taking aim, he shot towards the sky. “3” When his decent suddenly came to a stop he pressed the trigger again, the rope instantly being reeled in, pulling him along. “2” Even when the hook crashed back into the gun Kokichi was still hurdling through the air, higher than the building, having been launched by the force of the rope being pulled back in. “1” Once at the apex of his flight shrouded by darkness from high above he activated the paraglider, easily flying past any perimeter the cops could have made.

Once inside he knocked out a guard, assuming their identity. Now all he had to do was casually waltz in. “Halt. What’s your reason for coming in?” Ah, nice they were actually trying. No problem. “Dice is here! Look above!” There they saw a figure in black and white above them. “It’s Dice! And they’re already here!?” Kokichi raced in with the others. There was already a stir inside, clearly others had already caught a glimpse of the knocked-out cop dressed in back and white tied to that balloon. Perfect. With ‘Dice’ being spotted towards the higher floors that’s where everyone was going. Afterall, that’s where his target, the legendary Star Sapphire was being held. Racing up there he was undetectable, blending into the crowd. “Halt! No one is allowed onto the floor of the Star Sapphire without showing their ID.” Wow, snazzy they’ve got the whole floor on lock down, not just the single room. “Of course, here.” After passing the officer his card, looking back up to Kokichi likely checking his face matched the picture, which it did thanks to a certain D.I.C.E. member’s expertise and teaching Kokichi how to quickly make masks. The officer then glanced to the man beside her who immediately tried tackling Kokichi!?” She immediately leaned into the walkie talkie on her shoulder. “Dice is here! They are in the building disguised as an officer!” What!? How did they know!? Whatever, he was still found out, he needed to run!

No matter where he sprinted there seemed to be more and more cops blocking his way. Who the hell was running this show!? As he dashed passed a window his jaw dropped seeing a few helicopters!? So much for an arial escape, but the cops always tried to keep the phantom thief from going public, why would they bring helicopters into the mix if that were the case!? Did they give up on that and just wanted his capture, being that confident they’d catch him this time? From up there he could also see the perimeter was being sealed off, likely all the main exits were being sealed too. He couldn’t keep this up, he needed to shake the officers off for a moment. Taking a few small balls out from seemingly thin air he juggled them, giggling till one fell on the ground, breaking. “Oops!” He then pretended to trip, dropping the other balls, a slippery substance quickly oozing out of them, causing the officers to slip and fall, tripping over one another. Finally, with a moment to himself, he managed to slip into a closet. Shedding the disguise, he slipped into the air vent, crawling for the room.

As he made his way through the vent, he quickly discovered this was not a viable option. There were metal grates blocking the way he could not budge or break! He had no choice but to go back. Though of course just as he was about to get out the loose vent was discovered. As the officer opened the door a cream pie was suddenly shoved into their face, and with a swift shove they were knocked to the ground, allowing Kokichi to slip past, and crash through the door!

Racing down the hall he pried open the elevator doors, quickly scurrying up the walls to a higher floor. Once there he burst through the doors again. Perfect, there was a window at the end of the hall. As he ran, he pulled out what appeared to be deflated balloons from his pocket, blowing them up and twisting them together. Then with all his might he swung at the window, shattering it as he leaped out. “Cut off the power!” “Got it, Boss!” Even as he plummeted, he took another swing this time his comically large balloon animal looking hammer getting caught on the windowsill for him to quickly climb up and get inside. All the lights were shut off, including security systems, perfect. There before him was his prize. The large Star Sapphire just waiting in its case for him. Laughing his signature ‘Nishishi’ he daintily opened the case. “BOSS! THE POWER-” Suddenly the lights burst to life. A pair of hand cuffs shot out of the pedestal the jewel was place upon. His wrists were slammed down. Stretching out his fingers his prize was on millimeters away! “SOMEONE ALREADY GOT THE POWER BACK ON!” “… I see that.” He jostled his hands a little, finding the cuffs were just a bit too tight. Then the door burst open, a swarm of cops flooding the room. “Oh! I’d be careful-” Too late. One of the cops stepped on what appeared to be a balloon hammer. It exploded into a bright display of confetti, and colored smoke. With them thoroughly distracted Kokichi snatched the gem, leaving a marble in its place. He was about to sprint before abruptly stopping. Holding it closer he could see a slight smudge on the gem. He rubbed it against his ascot, seeing it truly shine before pink smoke clouded his view. Now it was time to run.

As he dashed, his heart stopped for a moment. A gunshot rang through the room and he felt his mask slip off. He then heard something else. Gas seeping out of something, but what kind was it!? Somehow did they know his mask was not just for fashion but also served as a gas mask? He was dealing with quite the opponent. Didn’t matter, he needed his mask! He already felt his body growing heavy, his eyes drooping. Sleeping gas!? As it fell he reached for it, only for a black gloved hand to snatch it away. He tackled them. Though they held his mask away, he felt they wore a gas mask themselves. Though they tried fighting back Kokich was able to rip it off and place it on himself. They dashed away and Kokichi followed. His mask was so many things, he could have it self-destruct so no one could track its communication back to his other D.I.C.E. members but recreating it would take a long time, and he didn’t want to wait. He wanted to have fun, and to do so, he needed his mask.

Though none could see it under the mask, though Kokichi himself didn’t realize it, he was smiling.

Chasing after the figure he was led to the roof. The wind howled and thrashed about. They were headed straight for the edge! Without thinking he hurled a juggling ball which exploded into large sparklers, thinking it’d stop their race to the ledge. They didn’t hesitate even with the mini fireworks display that suddenly burst to life before them. With its light Kokichi was able to see it even with the darkness of night. The chain link dome that surrounded the roof! Whipping out the grappling hook he shot, the hook zipping past the person in the trench coat, black gloves, and his mask. He then pressed the trigger, retracting the rope, sending him crashing into the person. They rolled across the ground, tussling. Somehow you both manage to throw the mask off the other at the same time. You chuckled seeing Kokichi’s bright smile. “I see you’re enjoying yourself.” You stood up, dragging him with you. Before you could say anything else Kokichi tackled you into a hug. “… As much as I’d love to have a happy reunion, I’m on the clock right now.” “Nope! You are my hostage now!” Hugging you tighter he pulled out what looked to be a toy gun and aimed it at the back of your head. “Thanks for giving you an out should someone see this.”

For a moment he didn’t say a thing, he simply held you so tightly, like his life depended on it. After he took a deep breath, he spoke. “So, you’re back on my case now.” “Yep. I was able to prove my findings after I was taken to the police station.” “And what did you find? I’d love to know.” “Alright. Dice is not a single person, but a group. Though true, you do the stealing, it’s others who do the truly difficult work. Making perfect replicas of your stolen goods to be sold on the black market before time is up and you return whatever you stole like it was never touched. I bet those hitmen that were after me before wanted revenge on you for selling them your last item, before the Japan caper. The Painting from Germany.” He smirked. “I’m impressed. I knew you’d make for a great rival, Y/N. After our contract had expired, I was planning on giving you a job you know. I could see no better place for you than either by my side or continuously chasing me. An assistant who was reduced to hired help was no role for you. Not gonna lie, this was starting to get boring. There was no more challenge, no more excitement, but then you came along. Though not the lead detective you were able to help plan and you managed to trick me a few times. It was so fun. Then suddenly it was boring again. Even before finding your real identity I knew only someone like you who’s so rare, could be someone on par with me. Someone who can always challenge me. Now that my whole operation has been laid bare to you, me and everyone else will now have to be more cunning and you will to, to match us. This game truly begins now. Tonight. Everything tonight has been your handy work, I can tell. Almost every step I took you tripped me, forcing me to adapt. It was amazing!… You are amazing… It can be no one but you.”

You sighed, nuzzling into him and leaning a little into his ear. “Heh. So it seems I can trick you.” You took a few steps back, managing to squirm out of his grip. “You think too simply.” You placed your hands into your coat pockets, slightly shivering from the cold you suddenly felt parting from the man. “It’s true I was fired. But no one ever said I was lowered to hired help. I was promoted actually. Just not on paper yet. I’m sure if you check now, you’ll see I’m officially the lead detective of this case.” You saw it. How even if it was by a fraction, his pupils dilated. You truly tricked the clown prince of lies himself. He smiled so softly, like his laughter in the car on that rainy day. “Wow… As the lead detective you were able to plan everything out, weren’t you?” “Certainly.” “Even how I was spotted?” “… Fine I might as well tell you now so you don’t waste time thinking on it, so you can plan an even better caper instead. The ID numbers. If the third number in an officer’s ID was even they needed to cuff up their pants once, if odd they were too cuff up twice… normally. When entering the floor with the Star Sapphire, no cuffs.” “Ooh, subtle. I like it!”

“Now down to business.” You took a step towards Kokichi, taking his hand. His eyes fixated on the long thin scar that ran across your cheek. He resisted the urge to place his hand there, to caress that scar with this thumb. “I’d like to offer a deal to Dice.” “A deal?” He tilted his head a little to the side, placing his pointer finger on his chin. “You and your group have displayed an amazing ability in information gathering multiple times. If you’d be interested, I could lift the charges against you. You and your friends would still go and steal whatever you please, but that would be a cover for you. Your real task, gather information only a criminal could suss out in the black market.” “Eh… Take some of the fun away. Why steal if the chase isn’t real? Not everything can be a lie you know.” “I know, just thought I’d offer. Who knows, there could come a day where this deal could save your life. I’ll keep it open in case you change your mind.”

“… Y/N, you’ve been holding my hand for a while now. Aren’t you going to try to hand cuff me or something?” “I know you’ll just slip out like you did with the pair at the sapphire, so I see no point. But… Now that you have declined my offer, I will have to arrest you.” “Uh, no! You should be arrested! You’re lying to me!” “Huh?” He held up the star sapphire between his fingers before dropping it, crushing it with his foot. “That was fake. The real treasure has been with you all along.” With half lidded eyes he leaned into you, pulling you closer by the hand. You froze, a shiver ran down your spine feeling his hot breath against you lips. Then suddenly you felt his fingers against your neck. “Nishishi.” He leaned back. “The choker you had hidden under your coat. This gem attached to it is the real Star Sapphire.” “Careful now.” You placed one of your hands on his, slightly pushing it away. “If you take this off without the proper code I’ll die.” You smirked; your eyes sharp. “You don’t have many rules, but one I know you have is no killing under any circumstances. It’s impossible for you to win this time. I’ve rigged the game. Sorry, not sorry.” “Y/N, stop putting yourself in danger! That’s stupid!” “I know I should, but, it’s fun seeing you flustered.” Kokichi then grinned from ear to ear. And he did nothing. Absolutely nothing. You tried to hide it, but… this actually caught you off guard. He was always so energetic, so spontaneous the thought of him doing nothing seemed impossible to you. He was just full of surprises. “You’re right. I could never hurt you, Y/N… Y/N… Heh, I’m still not used to that! Say, why don’t I just keep calling you Vivi. It’ll be like my pet name for you~”

Suddenly you were blinded by a bright all-consuming light, and you heard strange metal sounds. When the light was flipped off you saw a large hole had been cut into the chain link dome, Kokichi on a rope ladder leading up to a large open helicopter where eight masked figures stood. It seemed each one, including the helicopter driver had something to say. “Ew! Stop flirting, please! Boss is just going to gush more about you now!” “Seriously it’s bad. You know that lovey-dovey, sickeningly sweet b.s. in shows? It’s like that but he means every word and he’s not exaggerating!” “Look, can you just join us so we can get this over with. It obvious you’ll be joining us soon.” “Hey, we’ll have plenty of time to get to know them on our crime spree. They don’t have to join… right now.” “I don’t want them to join! Planning crimes would get boring again if they did!” “True but having such a character would be fun!” “Yeah! And our number one moto is to have fun, so JOIN US!” “Yeah! We’d love to have you along for this crazy ride!” “I think we should let this be. It seems the Boss has this covered.” Taking a closer look at Kokichi to see his reaction, somehow, he had gotten his mask back and he held the Start Sapphire. You touched your neck, feeling the gem was somehow dislodged from the chocker. “Nishishi! You need to get better at lying Vivi my sweet! Anyway, since our contract has not expired, I’ll do you a favor and increase your pay, alright?” “Hmm?” “You are the only person in this world who could possibly stop us! So, demand more pay on your own. As for us, we’ll help out however we can. After all, you have to be compensated very, very handsomely for dealing with the public and the press for you’ll be chasing after the most colorful, the most loud, the most wanted criminal organization IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!” This announcement won cheers, hoots and hollers from the masked individuals on the helicopter. It was then the helicopter started to move away but not before you were out of sight, taking the choker off, breaking it. Something fell out which you held up to them. The Star Sapphire… Kokichi took a closer look at the gem in his hand. It was just glass like the last one! Seeing how their boss limply dropped the glass they all knew they had all been bamboozled. You smirked as the officers came flooding the roof. You mouthed “You should hold off on your announcement for when or if you actually steal something.” before smirking, knowing you had definitively won this time.

They had no choice but to escape. Once inside everyone was freaking out that all of Kokichi’s praises about how amazing you were, were true and not the exaggerations of a love-struck fool. Kokichi however sat silently in the corner, already planning an amazing crime to make his announcement of his precents to the world. As he took off his mask he noticed something. A tiny black disk was stuck inside. “a tracker.” He simply crushed it between his fingers. ‘geez Vivi. if you wanted to know where I live, you could just ask.” He then remembered something. “So was that it? Vivi was my surprise? Or this getaway helicopter? OR BOTH!” “No, just the helicopter escape. We thought the caper was going to be boring without Vivian so we were going to throw you-” Suddenly partly poppers were popped and confetti flew about, immediately flying out the open doors. “A PARTY!” “but, Boss, you weren’t lying, were you? About us finally announcing ourselves?” Kokichi looked absolutely giddy as he jumped to his feet. “Duh! I told you before! The real show would begin once we found a true rival!” With one hand held on the door-frame he threw out an arm, gesturing to the world below. “Without a true rival, everything would be boring and predictable. But with Vivi, we might actually lose! It’s so exciting! We’ll take over the world! Everyone’s eyes will be on us alone! It will be amazing! A TRUE SHOW THE LIKES OF WHICH WILL FOREVER BE ETCHED INTO EVERYONE’S HEARTS! WE WILL RULE THE WHOLE WORLD!” The show of a lifetime. He could imagine having no better partners than his loyal family D.I.C.E. and no better rival than you. This was truly going to be extraordinary and he could not wait to get started.


	4. Epilogue

You awoke in darkness, stretching a little as you sat up and looked to the clock. Two seventeen. Kokichi had really messed up your sleeping schedule. It seemed impossible to not wake up so early anymore. You flipped on the t.v. turning the volume down till it was barely audible, Japanese subtitles flashing on the bottom. “kanji, kanji… Oh! A… aitsu… damnit." It’s gone already. Tossing the remote onto the bed you went into the kitchen, placing rice in the rice cooker, then setting about chopping some veggies. After boiling the vegies you mixed the rice and vegies into two bowls, drizzling some soy sauce on top before wrapping one of the bowls in saran wrap, leaving the bowl to be eaten later. With bowl and chopsticks in hand you made your way for the tiny balcony. You had just moved in a few days ago, you’d think that moving around the world changing time zones you’d stop consistently waking up in the early morning hours, but no, it somehow always happened. One good thing about this messed up schedule was you got to see the gorgeous night sky. Those twinkling stars… Like the Star Sapphire. It had been a month since D.I.C.E. made themselves known to the world. They sent a calling card saying they were going to target something in this city and to be on the look out for a pair of dice. And now here you were, waiting for those dice to appear and to prepare accordingly.

“Vivi?” There was a soft gasp. “Hello neighbor!” You turned to the balcony beside you. “Didn’t you move in mere hours ago? Aren’t you tired?” He smiled, leaning on the railing. “Nope! I’ve always been a light sleeper! Anyway I’m- wait… first name then last name. I’m Ouma Kokichi!” “Hmm. Not Kokichi Oma?” “What!? No! You must be talking about my evil twin brother!” You chuckled seeing his animated gestures as he spoke. “Ah, then are you also a tyrant demon from Atlantis?” “That’s just a lie from my brother! Don’t believe him!” “Well… I assume you’re accustomed to being called your last name, so I’ll call you Kokichi, alright?” “Okay! And I’ll call you Vivi! I know my evil twin will be sooooooooo annoyed when he finds out I call you his pet name for you!” “Ah, so your brother’s told you about me?” “Yeah! EVERYTHING! I’m basically him but not evil and available!” “Charming…” “You’re after that petty group of thieves, D.I.C.E., right?” “The Phantom Thief and his gang? Yeah.” “I’ve been wondering something.” He rested his chin in has hands as he looked to you with those wide sparkling eyes. “If you found them outside of a caper, would you arrest them? Even if they were just being normal people and not committing a crime?” “As an officer of the law I should say yes, but as a human, no. They put so much effort into their crimes. I want to catch them when they’re prepared, when they’re most elusive. If I didn’t do that, then I’d be showing no respect for them. Just as they respect me to not try to interfere when I’m preparing like sneaking in while I’m setting up security.” “Ah. I see!”

“Say, you hungry? I have some extra food if you’d like to have very early breakfast with me.” “Sure!” He then dashed away as you meandered to the front door. The moment you got inside there was already knocking at your door. You took a moment to unwrap the bowl you left on the counter. Upon opening the door you were greeted by a beaming Kokichi with a box in his arms. Taking a step to the side, you let him in. “What’s with the box?” “Oh, my evil twin told me to give it to you.” “Okay?” He placed it on a table before sitting down, happily eating his meal. “Huh. Seems my brother lied again.” “Lied about what?” You sat across from him, finishing your bowl. “He told me last time he ate your food it was bland, but it tastes good!” “Thanks.”

Once he was finished Kokichi made his way for the sink. “You don’t have to clean. I invited you over, so I’ll clean.” “Excuse me, but you can’t just feed me and not expect me to repay you somehow!” “Duel for it?” You got up, opening a tin that was on your bedside table, taking one of the many stacks of rubber banded cards. When you arrived back at the table your guest was sifting through his own tin.

You sighed in defeat as Kokichi quickly washed and dried the bowls. “I’m seeing what’s in the box now.” “Okay.” Upon opening it you found a single stack of rubber banded cards, atop a children’s learning Japanese book, and under that a pile of clothes. “Oh! Those are some nice-looking duds. Hey! I know, I know! Vivi! Get dressed in the fancy stuff and we’ll go on a date right now!” “Right now?” “Yeah! It’ll be so fun!” Before you could say another word, he dashed away, presumable to get dressed. “Sure.”

Before dashing out the door for his date Kokichi quickly shot a text to his group chat with D.I.C.E. thanking them. They went out of their way to find out where you moved so you could be neighbors. They truly were a thoughtful family.


End file.
